While ring signals to generate generic ring tones have been available in embedded multimedia terminal adaptors (EMTAs) to inform telephone users of incoming calls, ring signals to generate customized ring tones to distinguish different callers have not been made available in EMTAs.
In explaining the background of the foregoing deficiency, an EMTA is a combination of a modem and a multimedia terminal adaptor (MTA), where the term “MTA” refers to a Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) device and is used interchangeably with an analog terminal adaptor (ATA). As referred to in this disclosure, a modem may be any reasonably suitable modem for receiving data such as a cable modem, digital subscriber line (DSL) modem, etc. VoIP devices enable users to make and receive telephone calls via a VoIP network such as the Internet by connecting portable VoIP devices to the VoIP network via wires or wirelessly, where each VoIP device may operate as an interface between a telephone and a VoIP network.
At a customer premise, an EMTA has been typically connected to a local loop, where the EMTA sends out signals to cause a telephone to generate generic rings to inform users of incoming calls. A local loop may comprise a twisted-pair of RJ-11 wiring, which is a telephone wiring commonly provided in homes and businesses. For example, with the RJ-11 wiring, an EMTA generally provides an alternating voltage between tip and ring wires on the RJ-11, where such a signal causes a phone to activate its ringer. While ring signals may be modified by using different duty cycles (the on-off timing bursts) and different overall cadence in bursts of voltages, such ring signals have been produced generically for all callers and are meant to merely to inform users of incoming calls without distinguishing between different callers. For instance, while different duty cycles of ring signals may cause a phone connected to the RJ-11 to ring for three seconds and then stop for one second and ring for two seconds and stop for one second, such ring signals generated by EMTAs are not known to have produced different ring tones for different callers.
This is unfortunate in that while the wireless, mobile phone market has captured revenues from users wanting different ring tones to distinguish different callers, similar features have not been made available in EMTAs.